Forest Certification

Responsible forest management has been at the heart of Just Forests mission and vision - for a future in which people live in harmony with nature - since our foundation in 1989. Today, independent forest certification is more urgently needed that ever...

Forest Certification-What Is It?

Forest certification is a system of inspection and tracking timber, pulp and other forest products to ensure they have been harvested according to a strict set of guidelines. It’s more than just which trees to cut – forest certification also accounts for the social and economic well-being of workers and local communities and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) system has been doing it for the longest and does it best.

The certification process begins in the forest and continues through the entire chain of custody, so the end consumer can be certain he or she is buying an environmentally sound product.

Who can you trust?

Certification will only protect forests if the system is credible. Otherwise it’s just a green label.

Currently the world's best known NGOs considers the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) the most credible certification system to ensure environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of forests.

Just Forests here in Ireland, as well as GREENPEACE and WWF therefore recommends the FSC system to consumers, forest managers, policymakers and businesses. Just Forests hosted the first conference on forest certification and timber labelling in Ireland in 1996.

In 1996 Just Forests hosted WOOD FOR LIFE-the beginning of FSC in Ireland-historical beginnings:

AN INFORMATION DAY ON FOREST/TIMBER CERTIFICATION

Dowdstown House Conference Centre,

Dalgan Park,

Dublin Road,

Navan,

Co. Meath,

Ireland.

Friday 22 November 1996

The fact that timber is an essential commodity in the world economy is evident - who can imagine a world without wood or paper products? Properly managed it is also environmentally sound and a genuinely renewable resource. The remaining forests of the world not only represent vast and largely unexplored assets, but are also home to untold numbers of indigenous peoples, flora and fauna. Unregulated forestry can destroy forever these often fragile and irreplaceable habitats, and much of the life that depends upon them, turning short-term gain into long-term loss.

See the profiles of the internationally renowned speakers who set the stage for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification process in Ireland. To access this historical document please go to http://archive.justforests.com/forests1995/owp/certcon.htm where you will be prompted for Username:justforests and a Password: archive